Neverland
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: AU. Riff wakes up, and finds himself in an unfamiliar place with no recollection about himself. Encountering the residents doesn't help, either. Struggling to remember who he was and what he did before he ended up in Neverland, he has to trust his instincts and forget everything he ever knew about Neverland-it is a far more dangerous place than in the children's stories, after all.


**Author note: I do not own the song, music video and lyrics of said song that inspired me to write this fic, 'Neverland' by VanLadyLove (hence the title of this fic and the title of this chapter). I don't own the novel 'Peter Pan in Scarlet' that also inspired me to write the fic.**

**How I came up with this fic: I was just listening to the song and watching the music video when I got the idea. Reading the official sequel to Peter Pan, 'Peter Pan in Scarlet,' also inspired me to write this. And seeing as you readers have voted in my poll on my profile that you wanted to see some Count Cain: Godchild fantasy AU stuff, I figured this would be an interesting thing to write (well, more of type, technically). I will probably add more to this later on, but taking into consideration the large amount of fanfics that I have that need to be updated, as well as life outside fanfiction, I don't think it will be for a while unless inspiration nags me enough to write more.**

**Warning: AU, possible various pairings, violence**

**A big THANK YOU goes to storm101 who beta-ed this first chapter for me. I really appreciate it a lot. :)**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope that you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_**Neverland**_

* * *

_**I. More than a Dream**_

* * *

Some people come to Neverland because they have given up on their dreams. They cannot accomplish what they want in the world where they came from, and they soon find themselves in Neverland. They take the opportunities in Neverland to try to reach their goals; some succeed greatly, but some always fail in their every attempt.

Some people come to Neverland as children, forgotten by their mothers or abused by their worlds. They find their happiness in the land, and they do what their heart desires them to do. They play together, explore together, and like others in Neverland, never want to grow up.

Lastly, some people just happen to Neverland accidentally. They were never meant to ever exist in Neverland; they just wake up and find themselves in Neverland. Some find a way to leave and go back to the world where they came from, but others stay as they find a purpose for themselves.

This story is about one that came to Neverland quite accidentally.

* * *

He opened his eyes, and found himself curled on his side in a dark room, dimly lit with small lanterns that hung from hooks on the wall. He hesitated, before changing his position so that he was sitting up, not lying down. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to deny to himself that this could be real. This had to be a dream. The last time he was awake, he was, well...

Wait, what had he been doing before he went to sleep? He certainly couldn't remember that.

What if he had lost his memory? He tried to think of anything that happened before now, and mentally asked himself as many questions that he could think of. What was his name? Did he have family? What field of work was he involved in? Did he sleepwalk? When did he go to sleep at night, even?

Every answer that he tried to think up for all of his questions drew a complete blank, except for his name. It was Riffael Raffit, and he remembered instantly that he preferred to be called Riff. Riffael sounded far too old-fashioned for his taste...

Looking down at his clothes, he noticed the loose, white pants and shirt underneath a dressing gown. His feet, however, were freezing-he realized right away that he was barefoot. He must have been going to bed, or was in bed, before he ended up in this place.

A harsh pinch on the left cheek told him that he was not dreaming.

He couldn't panic yet. Where was he? Panicking would not help him in this case-he did not even know where he was. He stayed still for a moment, and felt the floor underneath him tilt back and forth, as if floating on water. He must be on a ship-that would explain the rocking sensation underneath him, as well a light taste of salty air on his tongue. How did he get here? He wasn't completely sure.

Before he could think about the predicament he was in even further, the click of a lock alerted his attention to a nearby door, which was opened a moment later. A figure stepped inside, and Riff knew for sure that he was most definitely in trouble.

He was in his early to mid-thirties, dressed in clothing that made Riff think the man was somewhere between a pirate and a dandy. A ruffled, white shirt showed at the collar and sleeves of a calf-length scarlet justacorps hemmed with bronze-gold. Sleek, black pants and knee-length leather boots finished the look, with the greatest concern being the golden hilts of a cutlass and rapier hanging from his left hip, and the heavy pistol hanging from his right.

Two dark amber eyes, glittering as if they were burning flames, glared at Riff through strands of shoulder-length brown hair, rooting Riff to where he stood. This man was obviously displeased by what he saw, and Riff knew it too well.

The rapier was drawn and the blade pointed towards Riff's throat, just under his chin. "Who are you?" he snarled, taking a few steps closer to Riff as he continued to keep his sword pointed. "What are you doing here?" There was a pause, before the questioning continued. "A spy for Cain, no doubt?" He spat the name as if it were a curse.

"R-Riffael Raffit, sir." Riff stammered as he backed up against the wall, confused by the older man's last two statements. As if he wanted to be here-he didn't even know how he got here, for crying out loud! "I'm afraid I do not understand about this spying, I-"

_"Lies!"_ Riff felt the tip of the rapier pierce his left shoulder, enough to just break the skin. The man's eyes narrowed, and Riff thought that they might become slits if they narrowed any further. "I will ask again, _cur,_ and you'd best answer truly. _Why_ are you _here?_"

Before Riff could try to explain to him that he had no idea about how he even got here, another man-a sailor-burst into the room, panting a bit.

"Captain Gladstone," he exclaimed, "Pardon me, Captain, but-" He swallowed nervously, before blurting out the rest. "But it's Cain. He's _here!"_

_"Now?"_ The captain pulled out his rapier from Riff's shoulder, glaring at the sailor with looks that could kill. "Don't just stand there, you fool!" He snapped at the man. "Tell the others to prepare the cannons!"

"Yes, sir!" The man ran upstairs, and he was already shouting for cannons and gunpowder before the door shut behind him.

Riff glanced at the man that had first entered this room-Gladstone-and the captain let out a sigh as he gave Riff a deathly glare, shaking his head.

"First a stowaway, and now I have a flying _pest_ as well. This is not my day..." He muttered to himself, turning on his heel and slamming the door behind him. Riff stumbled towards the door, hoping for a chance to leave the room, but the clicking of a lock dampened his hopes.

The amnesiac shook the door by the handle, but it was no use. Glancing at his shoulder, he cringed at the crimson colour blooming through the white-clothed shoulder. He thought quietly, touching his bloodied shoulder and pulling his hand away to gaze at the blood. The wound was nothing fatal, but it would be worrisome if it did not receive any treatment soon.

He leaned against the door, as his eyes wandered the room in search for an escape route. There were no other doors, and he doubted that the window nearby was unlocked. He wouldn't fit through it, anyway-he was far too tall and broad to climb through. He could not remember if he was able to swim, either...

He turned towards the door again, just as he heard muffled screams and the roar of cannon fire from outside. Riff tried to block the noises out of his head and instead focused on the lock. He had to escape, even if it meant he was going to walk into the middle of a fight.

The lock could not be forced open, but maybe it could be picked. Sticking a hand into his shirt pocket, there was nothing but lint. Mentally cursing to himself, he tried his pants pockets-and out came a small paperclip, buried in the pocket's lining. He stared at the object for a moment, and he let out a relieved sigh. This was much better than nothing, and now he had a chance for escape.

Untwisting the paperclip so that it was as straight as a needle, he knelt in front of the door, poked it carefully into the keyhole and started to pick the lock.

His attempt was disturbed when he heard a scream and a splash from outside the window. Intrigued, he ran to the window (with the straightened paperclip still stuck in the keyhole) and did his best to peer through the glass.

A pirate was knocked into the water, cursing and raging with all his might at a younger man, probably in his late teens, who was laughing like a child as he twirled a sword in his right hand. Riff couldn't see the young one's face-he could only see the wild, short raven black hair. He was far too focused on the fact that the teen was standing in _midair. _

This must be a dream. It was completely impossible for anyone to fly in the air like _that!_ Touching his wounded shoulder, he bit his lip. This must be a dream. _Right?_

The teen turned towards him-and stared in shock at the sight of Riff. The black-haired teen looked just as surprised at Riff's presence as Riff was by his. The boy's eyes were golden-no, they were green...Wait, no, they _were _green, but with golden flecks...

The teen floated closer to the window, putting a hand up to the glass like a child trying to take a closer look at the zoo's most exotic animal. Riff hesitated, before returning the gesture, putting a hand up to the window as well.

Their fingers intertwined, and Riff nearly let out a gasp of surprise at the warm, smaller hand gripping his larger one. There was no glass that separated them anymore-it was as if it never existed.

Wasn't there glass on the window? When did it disappear? Riff couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled at this, but he shook himself out of that thought as well as he could, and focused on the person in front of him. Both of them seemed to want to say something, but neither one could make themselves speak.

A vision flashed through Riff's head briefly as he stared straight into the blank golden-green orbs of the one in front of him. There was a boy clad in green, and a girl replacing where they stood. The boy spoke, and his image was replaced with the raven-haired youth in front of him.

_"...Wendy?"_

Riff extracted his hand and shook his head a little, confused. "Pardon me?" He asked quietly, unsure if he heard it correctly.

The other started to speak again, but the sound of another cannon firing muted him. His eyes suddenly filled with a sort of liveliness-a sort of mischief, and he looked upwards to his left. He paused, glancing at Riff again, before he flew away.

"Wait!" Riff shouted, extending his hand-

And it hit the glass window harshly. He recoiled immediately in pain and let out a hiss as he clutched his hand. When did the glass reappear? He wasn't sure-maybe that other person just now caused the glass to disappear temporarily?

Riff shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts, before rushing back to the door and struggling to pick the lock. He doubted that boy could handle fighting so many alone.

"Finally..." Riff breathed as he finally unlocked the door. He didn't hesitate-he pulled open the door quickly, before looking around the hallway outside carefully. There was no guard-the boy must have gained all of the pirates' attention. Seeing that the corridor was too dark for him to wander about by himself, he snatched a lamp from the little prison before rushing out and towards the top.

The screams and clashing of metal caught his attention as the roaring wind whipped the ocean waves into a threatening foam, and as Riff hid behind several barrels to avoid detection, he looked ahead to see all of the pirates gathered at one place, focusing on the one that called him Wendy.

"Come on, Cassandra!" The raven-haired youth shouted as he kicked a pirate in the stomach, before turning and punching another in the face, "You claim to be brave, but then you hide behind your men to make them fight for you! It doesn't seem very brave to me, _Captain._"

"You _dare_ to call me a coward, Cain?" Riff noticed Gladstone elbowing his way through the falling pirates towards the younger one (his name is _Cain, _Riff told himself-do not forget it). "Do you _think_ you can just waltz over to my ship and try to take what is rightfully _mine?"_

"Rightfully mine?" Cain mimicked back, turning the words into something scornful. "How ironic for you to say that, Cassandra, considering that you and your men _stole _the treasure in the first place!" He remarked, before pointing his sword at the pirate captain. "Take up your sword and fight. Unless you're not man enough to fight!"

Gladstone's face turned into a snarl. "You'll regret ever _saying_ that, fool!" He roared, unsheathing both his cutlass and rapier. The two charged towards each other, and blades clashed with the desire to kill the other.

Riff wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know if he had ever been good at sword fighting, but it wasn't like he could just go and let them kill each other-it wasn't right! He had to do something-he couldn't stand by and let this happen.

Swords were scattered on the floor, earlier abandoned in the chaotic fight. Picking one of them up and testing its weight, Riff felt that he had to help Cain. He didn't know why he even felt this way so strongly-if this was a logical world, Riff would just leave it up to the police. Obviously, this was no logical world, and he highly doubted police existed here. He hesitated, before rushing straight into the fight to help Cain.

The first pirate Riff managed to knock to the side let out a cry of surprise rather than pain. Riff knew too well that he was clumsy with the sword, and that his bleeding shoulder wasn't helping him, but he tried his best. Looking up, he realized that Gladstone and Cain had actually stopped fighting each other to simply stare at him in disbelief. Cain looked almost impressed by his effort. Gladstone, however, was furious.

Riff knocked down a third pirate, and he saw Gladstone turn towards Cain and try to stab him several times. "Of all the _worst-_possible_-timing...Now?!" _He heard Gladstone shout, accentuating his words with a savage swing of his swords.

"He's not any regular stowaway,_ Captain_." Cain taunted back, floating backwards to dodge his attacks. "Did you not notice? Or has your crocodile-riddled mind forgotten Wendy?"

Riff saw Gladstone's face contort into complete fury, in loathing of the crocodile that Cain had mentioned. "Shut up!" He roared, wildly slashing at Cain. The teen floated backwards, avoiding the attack, but the captain continued the flurry of attacks. "You have no idea-no idea about-" He stuttered, voice rising from fury to panic. "Those s-sleepless nights, and the fear of that-that _damned_ reptile!"

The reptile that the pirate captain hated the most-was it the crocodile? Riff remembered, almost at once, of reading the stories of Neverland. He remembered that Captain James Hook always feared that crocodile, and it did end up eating him in the original story, did it not? Shaking his head, he knew he couldn't focus on getting his memories back now. He had someone to help defeat, and he couldn't have anything else distract him further at the moment.

Cain sidestepped the wild attacks easily as Riff ducked around a pirate trying to stab him. He planned to attack the captain with the hilt of his sword. He doubted it would do much, but at least it was _something. _

Long before the hilt could connect with its target, Gladstone stumbled backwards, narrowly evading the attack. His grip on both the rapier and cutlass loosened until they clattered onto the wooden floor, and Riff swore he heard the captain whimper as he buried his face in his hands. The ship rocked more violently in the growing storm, and the captain wavered, before grabbing onto a nearby barrel to catch his balance.

"He's having one of his fits again," Cain remarked, and Riff stiffened as he turned to face him. The flying one's eyes sparked with a hint of malice, a whispered wish to kill. "This is our chance to finish him off."

"Finish him off?" Riff repeated, stabbing an advancing pirate in the arm before glancing at Cassandra behind him, who was muttering nonsensical statements of crocodiles and ticking underneath his breath. He turned towards Cain, grabbing his wrist before the dark-haired one could run towards the disoriented captain and stab him. "No! We can't just kill him!"

"It's either that or he will keep trying to kill us." The younger one responded, glaring at him a little as he kicked a pirate to the side. "I'm not going to let some _ninny _stop me!" Riff was about to glare back, tell him that he was not a ninny, but he never had the chance.

The storm finally broke into a torrent of waves, violently rocking the boat. Many pirates were slammed onto the deck before the waves dragged them into the deathly waters below, screaming. Riff and Cain managed to grab onto the nearby mast, one of the few immobile objects on deck, as they tried to blink the salty seawater out of their eyes. Gladstone was not as lucky as them-he was nearly pulled into the ocean as well, as the barrel rolled across the deck and out to sea. Riff hesitated, but at the last moment grabbed the pirate captain's slick wrist as he slipped by. The ship continued to tilt, the relentless storm threatening to flip over the ship entirely.

"You're mad!" Cain shouted as Riff struggled to keep a grip on the captain's wrist. "He wants to kill us and you're saving his life!"

"I can't just let him die!" Riff shouted back. As much as it hurt his left shoulder to support all of Gladstone's weight, he would not, just _not _let someone die.

"Why? Why are you-" Gladstone started, but the howling wind drowned out the rest of his words. Riff cringed slightly as two voices came to his head- a feminine, young one and one voice that was male, and much older.

_"Are you...dying?"_

_"...I'm afraid I am a bit, well, undone..."_

Riff looked down to see confused captain's eyes meet his own. Rif knew that Gladstone must have heard the same thing, without having to ask. But what in the world did it mean?

A high wave crashed into the tilting deck from above, and Riff felt Gladstone's fingers slip through his hand as Cain braced himself against the mast. Seeing the pirate captain get washed out to sea made Riff cringe-he didn't want it to happen, but he knew he couldn't do anything else to help him now.

Riff felt himself starting to slip as the seawater roared in his ears, its salty taste making him gag and cough. Losing his grip entirely, he knew it would only take seconds to hit the water and to swim for his life.

Instead, he felt himself get dragged into the air. Looking up, he saw Cain, pulling him by his good wrist through the stormy air as he flew, narrowly avoiding pieces of the splintering ship and the angry waves.

He did not know what to say, or do, if he was supposed to do anything. All he could do was watch as tendrils of saltwater grasped at the ship and dragged it into the ocean depths.

* * *

The whole time they flew, they were silent. Neither one spoke a word, and let the silence fill the space between them. Riff had visions dancing in his head, of a red-haired boy smiling at him. He looked down, seeing a blue dress enveloping his suddenly smaller, feminine figure. He looked up at the boy-and found himself smiling, strangely. He blinked once, and stopped smiling-Cain was staring at him, and Riff couldn't help but look away, embarrassed that he got so caught up in the vision.

Riff found himself unsteady for a few moments as they landed, unused to the solid earth beneath him. They were in a forest, the shadows of the trees above crisscrossing with the dim moonlight. Looking to his left, he realized Cain was staring at him, with some sort of strange delight in his golden-flecked eyes.

"You finally came, Wendy Darling..." He trailed off quietly, talking to himself more than to Riff. "You're here."

"I'm _not _Wendy Darling." He stated, and Cain turned towards him as he continued. "My name is Riffael Raffit, and I-I-" He cut himself off, unsure of what else to say. What else could he say about himself? That he was confused and had no idea what was going on? "I..." He pressed a hand to his wounded shoulder. It seemed to have finally stopped bleeding, but he wasn't much better off than before. Shivering, soaking wet and he still didn't have much of an idea of where he was and who these people were, not to also mention that he barely remembered anything about himself before he was here.

"You probably don't remember a thing about yourself or your past life, do you?" Cain asked quietly, crossing his arms. His eyes never left Riff's face as he continued. "It's fine-all of the Wendys go through a phase of forgetting their past life of the world they came from, yourself included."

"All of the Wendys?" The amnesiac asked, getting even more confused by the last statement. "Isn't there supposed to be only one-like in the children's stories?"

Cain shook his head. "No, Riff. Neverland is barely anything like the one portrayed in children's stories. Wendy is more of a title rather than a name; one of five. There is Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, Tiger Lily, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook. Each role has a successor to take that role when the person performing that role before them dies. In this case, I'm Peter Pan's current successor, and you're the Wendy as of now."

"That means Cassandra Gladstone would be Hook's successor." Riff said quietly. He wished he could remember the story of Neverland better-he was so sure, now, that he definitely read it before but when? At least the explanation made more sense than anything else did tonight.

Cain's smile widened, and he nodded once. "Exactly. The only thing is because of being their successors, we'll have the memories of the originals, as well as the memories of our previous lives before we came here." A bit of his confidence left his tone of voice, and a worried look seemed to take over his face for once. "It's...not the most stable mentality to be in, but at least we're still alive and sane, unlike Gladstone."

Riff bit his lip at the mention of Gladstone. "...Do you think there is a chance that he could still be alive?"

Cain shook his head. "I doubt it. That storm was rough, and he did get thrown overboard. With any luck, he'll end up in Mermaid Cove." He muttered quietly. "The mermaids can eat him for me."

Gladstone _was _a pirate, Riff remembered, and he also remembered the hatred between Hook and Pan in the stories. "...Is he truly that bad?"'

The teen's eyes narrowed almost to slits, the golden flecks in his eyes darkening as well. "He _killed _the woman I loved. Is that not 'truly bad' enough for you?" He snapped, baring his teeth menacingly.

Riff swallowed nervously, holding up his hands and backing up a few steps. He didn't mean to pry into anyone's personal life. "My apologies-I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine." The tone of the teen's voice conflicted with his words, and he immediately broke eye contact. "I'll explain more about this world later. We need to get sleep, and that wound of yours needs to be bandaged, at least." Turning on his heel, he took out his sword and slashed at the undergrowth in front of him.

The amnesiac followed without a word, wishing that he hadn't said anything.

As they arrived at the fort, Riff noticed its foundation, a sturdy oak tree that had to be at least three times larger than any regular oak he had seen before. Higher up in its branches rested a large, wide platform of red wood, with a thin roofing of thin tree limbs tied with twine, rotted leaves hanging off its branches. Cain grabbed Riff by his good wrist again, before the two flew upwards. Descending slowly onto the platform, there lay a few rectangular mats, and a small basket with round, red fruit in it.

Riff was able to take his landing a bit steadier than the last time, and Cain let go of him before he tore at the hem of his shirt. Riff found himself pushed downwards into a sitting position, a few of his shirt buttons being undone before his shoulder was wrapped with the cloth. Cain pulled at the makeshift bandage and tightly knotted it he best he could. Riff glanced at his bandaged shoulder, before looking towards Cain.

"Thank you." He managed to say. Cain said nothing for a moment, before nodding once and turning away from him.

"You can sleep on one of the mats here. Goodnight." Riff heard the teen mumble, before lying on his side. Riff turned away from Cain, lying on his back carefully on the mat. He bit his lip as his shoulder throbbed in pain-there was no doubt that it was not going to heal as quickly as he would hope for it to. Seeing a nearby blanket, he grabbed it and wrapped it around his own freezing form.

"Goodnight." Riff spoke after a moment of silence. Cain didn't respond. Perhaps the teen was already asleep, or he decided to ignore him-either way, he wasn't going to respond to him.

The amnesiac closed his eyes quietly, breathing in the musky air. There was so much that he still couldn't get his head wrapped around. Was Gladstone still alive? As much as he didn't enjoy getting stabbed in the shoulder by the captain, it didn't seem right for him to die. As for Cain...there was so much he didn't understand about him. Did he honestly want Gladstone to die? How could he think like that? Then again, it did make sense. If a loved one was killed by Gladstone...

Riff shivered, shaking away the thoughts in his head. He would ask more about Gladstone tomorrow-and more about Neverland, as well.

It seemed like hours before sleep finally claimed him. Perhaps, he hoped, this was just a crazy dream and he would wake up back where he came from.

Little did he know that it was not something that he could assume so easily.


End file.
